Scottsdale is home to some impressive public art, a large deal of it near the Civic Center and the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. An early-evening self-guided tour is the perfect way to get to know a date. Plus, with events ranging from culinary to musical, there's a lot to love about the Civic Center Plaza. More >>

http://www.shenanigansofphoenix.com From the outside, this two-level tavern might appear to be just another humdrum storefront at a quiet strip mall in north Phoenix, but once you get inside, it's a different story altogether. There are plenty of amusements at this rocking watering hole, whether it's jersey-wearing sports fans gathering to root on their particular team, wanna-be singers grabbing the microphone during weekly karaoke nights on Fridays and Saturdays, or the occasional live band. More >>

http://www.theshouthouse.com/az West Valley nightlife isn't exactly known for its variety. Sure, you'll find plenty of sports bars and dank dives, but hip neighborhood bars and edgy dance clubs are quite the rare beast. Fortunately, The Shout! House offers a nice change of pace. You'll find a rotating cast of pianists performing Tuesday through Sunday night. The dueling pianos offer up classic bar tunes - we're looking at you, Journey - while patrons can enjoy one of The Shout! House's nightly drink specials and grub from their full menu. You'll hear covers of bands as disparate as The Moody Blues and Tenacious D, so it's likely that everyone in your party will probably end up screeching along at some point. Oh, and if you've got your heart set on hearing something special you can always text a request - no need for the dollar bill. And, yes, they'll probably play Billy Joel's "Piano Man," but only if you ask them nicely. More >>

http://www.skipperslounge.com/ A favorite of both neighborhood residents and salt-of-the-earth barflies for years, Skippers is tucked away next to the intriguingly named Roman Tax Service in a red-and-white mini-strip. The bar offers Glendale denizens a place for drinks, karaoke, and live music. Such bands as The Bank and Fool's Life are regulars here, performing rock 'n' roll hits on the weekends. Watching NASCAR is another big pastime here (as evidenced by the posters on the wall) as are the thrice-weekly "kamikaze karaoke" sessions. As the event's name portends, singers can occasionally become a little wild when belting out standards and popular songs, so keep a firm hold of your drink in case the current mic-wielder bumps into you while belting out Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer." More >>

http://www.smoca.org/smoca-lounge “Turning the museum on its head...one Friday at a time!” That’s SMoCA Lounge’s motto. The brainchild of local bon vivant and all-around rascal Tania Katan, SMoCA Lounge is Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art’s hippest happening. Original programs include Lit Lounge, at which local writers and performers read new essays written just for the event; Arm Wrestling for Art, a fundraiser in which, well, attendees actually arm wrestle one another to win an original work of art. And then there’s the Good ’n’ Plenty Artists Grant, where local artists compete against one another to win cash for their next art project. The rest of the time, the lounge—a big, bright red room full of repurposed packing crates—is filled with live music, poetry slams, films, and humor. Open most weekends until 9 p.m., with free museum admission after 5 p.m., SMoCA Lounge is hipper than most everything else happening in Scottsdale. More >>

http://www.soulinvictus.com While the front portion of this Grand Avenue favorite serves as an art gallery, the back area is a spacious music venue and theatre. An large stage provides a performance zone for rock acts, various Valley theater groups, and performance artists. Patrons take in the onstage action while sipping coffee and soda at several small tables scattered around the joint. More >>

http://www.stinkweeds.com The heck with your iPod. Forget about iTunes and your iPhone’s music app. Get yourself over to this super-hip record shop, and take a step back in time. Check out slabs of yesteryear vinyl by Sonny and Cher; not-so-old CDs by the Freelance Whales or Adele; and cool new reissues of old stuff by the Beatles and the Monkees. Friendly staffers will help you find what you like, and can turn you on to new things you didn’t know you loved. Stinkweeds specializes in indie labels, so you’re likely to come away with more than a few local bands and up-and-comers—the perfect gift from any real record store. More >>

http://www.stratusaz.com This West Phoenix event space located in a converted warehouse is a rather versatile beast, having hosted a gamut of events from mariachi concerts and weddings to epic DJ festivals and heavy-duty rock shows. It’s also a sexy beast, featuring expensive lighting and sound rigs, ornately chic decor, plasma screens in the glossy bathrooms, and a lengthy bar aglow with LEDs. Stratus is akin to a Scottsdale club, right down to the disco ball hanging from the ceiling and the red carpet unfurled outside the front door during special events. The staff can also wheel out a mobile stripper pole, which came in handy (and leggy) for the auditions for a potential reality show about local exotic dancers that once occurred here, but it's a prop that doesn’t see any use when a quinceañera occasionally takes place at Stratus. At least, we certainly hope not. More >>

http://www.surpriseaz.gov/files/springtraining/ Designed by HOK Sport and built in 2002, this better baseball field holds 10,714 people. Located at the Surprise Recreation Campus in Surprise, Arizona, it’s the spring training home of the Kansas City Royals and the Texas Rangers, and proud home to the Arizona Fall Leagues’ Surprise Saguaros. When there’s a game on, there are good eats, too—hoagies and pizza and frozen ice tea are the popular favorites at half-time. And the rest of the time? The award-winning facility is used by Surprise families as a kind of home-away-from-home, where they can meet to enjoy kid-friendly Movie Nights with their neighbors, or gather for the annual Fourth of July fireworks display and entertainment festival. It’s, um, no surprise why this place is so well-regarded by its community. More >>